Veteran politician Daniel Deng Monydit has lost the SPLM primary election in Rumbek North County, Lakes State, to Dr. Madong Muorwel Nyot, ending his bid to secure the party’s nomination for the national parliamentary constituency.
Nyot won the primary for National Geographic Constituency No. 2 with 303 votes, representing 57.7% of the total, according to results announced on Wednesday by David Yau Yau, chairperson of the SPLM High-Level Committee overseeing primaries and congresses in Lakes State.
Monydit, who represented the constituency in the national parliament for 16 years, received 17 votes, or 3.2%.
Three other candidates also contested the party ticket. Chier Ramsey Monyping secured 95 votes (18.1%), Isaac Mayiek Noi received 86 votes (16.4%), while John Deng Mamer obtained 24 votes (4.6%).
The five candidates received a combined total of 525 votes.
Announcing the results, Yau Yau formally declared Nyot the winner of the primary, saying the decision was based on the votes cast during the party’s internal election.
“Based on the results of this primary election, I am here with the powers bestowed upon me as chairperson of the High-Level Committee responsible for primaries and congresses in Lakes State to declare Comrade Madong Muorwel Nyot the winner of National Geographical Constituency No. 2,” Yau Yau said.
He commended the Pakam community for what he described as its unity during the electoral process, saying he was impressed by the way community members greeted one another after the election.
Yau Yau said the candidates are all sons and daughters of the Pakam community and reminded residents that they are citizens of South Sudan as the country prepares for the December general elections.
He also pledged that the SPLM would deliver a tarmac road to Rumbek North, saying the ruling party is committed to addressing the area’s infrastructure needs.
“The SPLM will be the one to bring a tarmac road to Rumbek North. There is no other party that will bring a tarmac road,” he said.
Yau Yau described the primary as the first democratic exercise of its kind since South Sudan gained independence in 2011.
He said he would submit a report to President Salva Kiir and the SPLM national secretariat, headed by Secretary-General Dr. Akol Paul Kordit, after completing the party’s electoral activities in Lakes State.
He added that he would convey the community’s concerns, including demands for roads, schools, hospitals and other essential services, to the party leadership.
Yau Yau also said the SPLM leadership would consider ways of accommodating candidates who failed to win their respective primaries and congresses.
Nyot previously served as Lakes State minister of information and communication. He later left the SPLM to join the SPLM-IO, before moving to the United Sudan African Party (USAP). He subsequently resigned from USAP and rejoined the SPLM about 18 months ago.
The primary election determines the SPLM candidate for the constituency in the December general elections.
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